Cape Town – I’m sure Johan Goosen’s heart beats 100 percent proudly South African, but right now the sad thing is that a Silver Fern would probably be a more fitting breastplate for him than a Springbok.
It’s got nothing to do with patriotism. l know we have only seen him for about 30 minutes of Test rugby, and boo to Heyneke Meyer for that, but already Goosen looks like a natural for the black jersey. You know the look – untethered, free-spiritish, playing on instinct. A guy basing his decisions on what’s in front of him, not on what his coach is screaming into a walkie-talkie.
It really looks like Goosen has all the smarties in the box. His punts are long and accurate. His goal-kicking is ace. He can step. He passes well left and right. He can put up a high bomb with the best of them. Fine, he was bumped out of the road by Ma’a Nonu in Dunedin, but you can’t have everything on one night, as the bishop said to the actress.
But how much of Goosen are we going to see for the rest of our first Rugby Championship? And by the way, I’ve grown to like the new name for the Tri-Nations. It’s a bit of a nightmare for headline writers, but it has a nice sense of gravitas to it. It’s like Tiger Woods’s SMS to LeBron James after he won the US Open at Torrey Pines on one-and-a-half legs in 2009. “14 Championships.” Plus the Pumas have already left a few scratches on all three the other teams.
Sorry, back to Goosen. Surely even the Pretoria poppies must agree that it’s time for Morné Steyn to go. Yet even if Heyneke Meyer does pick Goosen, how much freedom of expression is he going to give a 20-year-old at flyhalf? How much of that freedom is going to be coached and drilled out of him? If it’s on and he wants to goosestep in his own half, will he be allowed to? Or will the instruction be thundered out: Jy mag mos nie daarvandaan hardloop nie, nefie. Will he able to put Frans Steyn and Jean de Villiers into a gap or will he be told to set them up for another crash-ball? And so we can go on.
In New Zealand there would be no gnashing of teeth about his age. In that country, if you’re special, you’re special. It doesn’t matter if you hit the scene at 19 or get discovered on a sheep farm at 29. The same principle applies in Australia, as James O’Connor will tell you. Think about it: What would New Zealand or Australia do with a player like Goosen?
Then there is Elton Jantjies and Patrick Lambie. When last has South African rugby been blessed with three young flyhalfs like Goosen, Lambie and Jantjies? Three players who have the boot and the creative vision needed for the No 10 job. Yet Meyer believes Goosen needs to be eased into Test rugby, Jantjies was left at home and Lambie’s frustration has been written all over his face on the Bok bench.
Obviously you need a strong pack and a flyhalf who can boot you out of trouble. Those remain two of rugby’s essentials. But it’s 2012, and surely the time has come to move our game beyond simply trying to overpower teams with brute strength. Surely it’s time to recognise that off-loading in the tackle is the most effective way to unlock defences. Surely it’s time to value and nurture our creative players and not frown on them. Surely it’s time to guard the rugby ball as a treasure and not just kick it away aimlessly.
Lambie, Jantjies and Goosen are just three of our young players who can help change the face of Springbok rugby. But man, I just hope they are encouraged to play the kind of rugby that is in their genes. Because who needs a walkie-talkie when you can walk the walk and talk the talk. – Cape Times
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